Commercial printer
Simon Moore, managing director, Eclipse Colour Print
"It suits their business model and blend of work because it's largely direct mail (DM) based. As they've stated, they want to get out of commodity products because they don't have the equipment to compete and make a profit, or would find it more difficult to. But, if you're looking at it from a commercial print point of view, then I certainly believe that there is still a significant marketplace for conventional litho presses. At some point there will be a cross-over; the question is at which point it becomes cost-effective." 

Direct mail printer
Lucy Edwards, assistant managing director, Howard Hunt
"For the foreseeable future, there will be a place for both litho and digital presses. Litho is still competitive on both price and quality and for acquisition campaigns with minimal personalisation. Digital technology hasn't been used as quickly as predicted, not just because of costs but also because of the quality and flexibility of customers' data. Digital technology is at its most powerful when combined with the intelligent use of data to create highly personalised direct mail. Results have been at their best when digital technology is used in integrated, multi-channel campaigns. The response rates and return on investment far exceed litho results." 

Commercial and digital printer
John Godwin, managing director, DS Print & Redesign
"I hope that digital presses such as the HP and Kodak presses won't take over from litho in DM. We do some work in that market, and we sometimes work with digital presses because its short-run work. However, the one thing that I would be concerned about is the unit cost per publication. They are a lot more than printing a generic report, and that is the big concern. While there is a market for digital print in the DM sector, I can't see it taking over from litho presses." 

Direct mail printer
Yolanda Noble, chief executive, Dsicmm
"I think they are the future of DM and businesses of our size recognise that we have to offer innovation. For a long time we have been working in a commodity business. But the two have to work in conjunction with each other, one isn't going to replace the other. We certainly won't be pulling out of litho, although we may not be investing in it. Sometimes you need that work to just churn through, sometimes projects don't lend themselves to digital and you need those big presses. You need imagination and research to make digital presses work for you though."